The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 46

More worried than Chu Ci was the weak, helpless, and stout Principal standing nearby. Every single one of these students had been an “ancestor” during their school days. He had finally managed to see them all graduate; what sin had he committed to have to relive the nightmare of those years?

With a forced smile, he quickly invited them inside, trying to change the subject.

Upon entering the school gates, a massive fountain and sculpture showcased pure extravagance. The wide central boulevard was lined with rare plants, flowers blooming in vibrant colors.

Chu Ci walked in the middle, with Jian Sui on her left and Cao Xi on her right. To Cao Xi’s right was Bai Qingqing. The Principal and his entourage followed behind, flanking them on both sides.

Chu Ci walked very slowly. The school was massive, and she was genuinely finding it difficult to keep up physically.

Jian Sui held Chu Ci’s arm, appearing intimate, but she was actually supporting her to keep her from getting too tired.

Cao Xi, naturally, noticed Chu Ci’s unsteady breathing. She glanced around and signaled the photographers in front to stop filming. “This school is huge; don’t you even have a Segway? Walking like this is going to exhaust everyone.”

The Principal hurried forward. “Yes, yes, of course. I’ll have someone bring them over immediately. There’s a bio-garden up ahead; shall we head there first?”

Ahead was a massive transparent arched building housing a miniature ecological system. Though it appeared to be mostly sustained by money, it served its purpose.

As soon as they entered, the air changed. The dry heat from outside vanished, replaced by fresh, slightly sweet air—moist, cool, and comfortable. An artificial stream cut through the center; various fish could be seen darting through the crystal-clear water, and even the aquatic plants were neatly manicured. It was clearly maintained with great effort.

Cao Xi leaned over the water. “Huh? Why are these fish so small? I remember them being huge when we were in school. Really fat—they just didn’t taste good grilled.”

The Principal stood nearby wiping sweat, managed a forced smile. That was precisely because you people caught and grilled them, nearly setting the school on fire. He had replaced them with small fish as soon as they graduated to prevent such dangers from recurring.

Chu Ci found Cao Xi’s stories amusing. Truth be told, she had never truly experienced campus life; most of her time had been spent in hospital wards with private tutors. All of this felt exceptionally foreign to her.

“Hello! Hello!”

A green parrot saw them and immediately flew over to greet them, showing no fear of humans.

Cao Xi’s eyes lit up. “Silly Bird? You’re still alive?”

“Ah! Disaster! Disaster! Someone wants to eat birds!” The parrot flew closer, recognized Cao Xi’s face, and slammed on its aerial brakes. It shrieked, performed a 180-degree turn, and flew away.

Cao Xi: “…” Stupid bird, it has a good memory.

Bai Qingqing looked at the crowd following them. “Principal, you should go attend to your business. We’ll meet at the cafeteria for lunch. We can wander around ourselves for now; after all, it’s our alma mater, and it’s been years since we were back.”

“Alright, then feel free. If you need anything, just find us.”

The Principal couldn’t have asked for more. He agreed immediately and led the others away, leaving only the four of them.

Now that there were no outsiders, Cao Xi crossed her arms and looked at Bai Qingqing warily. “What are you really up to?”

Bai Qingqing stood on the wooden platform by the stream. “Just visiting our alma mater. Things have changed so much; I barely recognize this bio-garden.”

“Stop playing dumb with me. You’re definitely up to no good.” Cao Xi huffed and sat down next to Chu Ci.

Bai Qingqing gazed into the distance. “Chu Ci, do you remember? Every student who graduates from this school plants a tree. Mine was planted by the two of us together. Do you remember where it is?”

Chu Ci, who had been focused on the fish, snapped back to reality. How on earth would she know?

“I don’t remember.”

After so many years, not remembering seemed normal enough.

“Then let’s go find it. We planted a loquat tree; it should be easy to find,” Bai Qingqing suggested.

Jian Sui’s gaze shifted to Chu Ci. It seemed her previous suspicion was correct; the history between Bai Qingqing and Chu Ci was not that simple.

Chu Ci didn’t even know what a loquat tree looked like, let alone where to find one. Before she could find an excuse to refuse, her “Best Friend on Earth” Cao Xi stepped up.

“There are thousands of trees in that forest, if not ten thousand. Who are you trying to exhaust? If you want to find it, go find it yourself.”

“Fine. I’ll go find it myself.” Bai Qingqing gave Chu Ci a deep look, turned around, and walked into the forest at the other end of the bio-garden alone.

She just… left?

This caught the remaining three off guard.

“Is she… going to be in any danger?” Chu Ci looked at the silent woods. Even in broad daylight, she wouldn’t dare go in there alone.

“This is inside the school; what danger could she be in?” When Cao Xi was in school, she knew every single exit and hole in the fence. She wasn’t worried at all. “What I want to know is, Chu darling, when did you plant a loquat tree with her? Didn’t you plant one with me? Just how many people did you plant trees with?!”

Chu Ci: “…”

How was she supposed to know how many people the original host had planted trees with!

Especially since Jian Sui was looking at her with the same expression, Chu Ci felt the pressure mounting. God as her witness—it turns out you can’t even “two-time” a friendship.

“Wait a minute,” Cao Xi seemed to remember something. “Bai Qingqing didn’t graduate with us. She didn’t attend the graduation ceremony, so how could she have planted a tree? Chu darling, when did you two plant it?”

“Oh right, Bai Qingqing didn’t graduate.”

Chu Ci remembered a snippet from the original novel. When Bai Qingqing differentiated as an Omega at sixteen, the shock was too great. Coupled with the Bai family’s sudden neglect, she vanished from the public eye for three whole years. She didn’t reappear until she was nineteen and went abroad.

Counting by the timeline, she indeed hadn’t graduated when she disappeared.

Cao Xi nodded halfway, then suddenly reacted. “What do you mean ‘oh right’? I’m asking you! When did you plant a tree with Bai Qingqing? Why didn’t I know about it?”

Chu Ci knew it—every time she praised Cao Xi in her head, the girl would drop the ball. Don’t you have any situational awareness? Do I look like I know?!

“I forgot.”

Deciding to just let things slide, Chu Ci resolved to use those two words to get through the day.

Jian Sui looked at Cao Xi, who was helpless against Chu Ci, and then at Chu Ci, who seemed determined to hide the truth. “How about we go look for it too?”

Cao Xi responded immediately. “Exactly. Every tree planted here has the person’s name and the date on it. We’ll definitely find it. Let’s go.”

Perhaps the fact that Chu Ci had been so close to Bai Qingqing without her knowing had triggered Cao Xi; she was determined to find that tree today.

Chu Ci hadn’t expected them to get so hung up on a tree. “Didn’t you just say looking through ten thousand trees would exhaust someone?”

“They’re arranged by grade; it’s not that much trouble. Fine, fine—you stay here and rest. Jian Sui and I will go look. I want to see what this ‘secret tree’ of yours looks like and what mysteries it’s hiding!”

Cao Xi pulled Jian Sui away. Chu Ci sat there blinking. What was happening? She had somehow become the “unfaithful” one?

Just as Chu Ci was feeling speechless, she suddenly felt a sense of unease. The tree wouldn’t actually be hiding some secret, would it?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Since the original novel was already unreliable, anything could happen.

Unable to sit still, Chu Ci stood up. She had to go look too. Who knew what the original host had done?